Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made in implementing recommendation 13 of the report of the Red Tape Review Panel regarding changes to EU regulations; whether it has raised these issues with the European Union and, if so, who they have been raised with and when.

Ross Finnie: Recommendation 13 of the Red Tape Review is currently in progress, with two of the specific aspects of this recommendation already completed. Those which remain, specifically regarding oilseeds regulations and proportionality of penalties, require longer-term action and European Union (EU) co-ordination. My department has been pressing the EU on these issues since the publication of the Red Tape Report, and I am pleased to inform that a Commission Working Group has now been established to look at simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy. The UK, along with other member states, are now providing ideas to this group for consideration, and these suggestions will include the complexity of oilseed regulations and the proportionality of penalties.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the current penalty provisions in relation to the integrated administration and control system are disproportionately harsh; in particular, whether producers should be penalised for mistakes from which they do not benefit and what progress is being made in addressing any such concerns.

Ross Finnie: The regulations governing the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) are extremely tight and leave little room for discretion when applying penalties. There are, however, certain circumstances under which "obvious" errors can be accepted, and Area Aid Applications can be amended after the submission date of 15 May. Officials have been pressing the EU on the extension of the obvious error concept, and also on the proportionality of sanctions. My department, along with other UK departments and other member states, are now providing ideas for consideration by a Commission Working Group established to look at simplification of the Common Agricultural Policy.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the existing oilseeds regulations require simplification and, if so, what progress is being made in this respect.

Ross Finnie: Under the Agenda 2000 proposals, my officials participated in a number of discussions on the eligibility of oilseeds to receive aid under the Arable Area Payments Scheme. This was because we recognised that the quality control criteria was an area where a simplification of the rules would benefit producers. The European Commission rejected this, as they were anxious to foster their policy of quality improvement in order to reduce the need to import oilseeds from outwith the Community. Currently, however, my officials are taking part in a general exercise on ways of improving the administration of the CAP. We will thus again be asking the Commission to look carefully at this matter.

Agriculture

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the meeting of the Project Assessment Committee to consider, subject to parliamentary approval of the relevant statutory instrument, applications for assistance under the Agricultural Business Development Scheme scheduled for 2 February was cancelled and whether it will place in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre a copy of any written explanation of this decision issued to applicants or others.

Ross Finnie: The decision to postpone the Project Assessment Committee (PAC) meeting scheduled for 2 February was taken following the tabling of a motion to annul these regulations further to concerns being expressed by the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Development Committee about the scheme’s governing regulations.

  A news release announcing this decision was issued on 31 January and an explanatory letter was sent to PAC members on the same day. Copies of both documents have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 11550).

Agriculture

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12634 by Ross Finnie on 2 February 2001, what percentage of beef and sheep farmers who were eligible for the previous Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance will be worse off under the new less favoured area formula, broken down by Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department local office areas.

Ross Finnie: It will not be possible to provide this information until all this year’s area-based LFA claims have been processed and analysed.

Data Protection

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive which minister has responsibility for data protection issues.

Henry McLeish: Data protection is a reserved matter. When data protection issues arise they are considered by the minister responsible for the policy area in which they occur.

Digital Technology

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what analysis has been made of the impact of digital technology on rural communities.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive is aware of the potential benefit of digital technology to rural areas. The Arkleton Trust (Research) Ltd produced a report for Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in 1995 evaluating the Highlands and Islands Telecommunications Initiative (HITI). The report showed that the initiative had exceeded its job creation targets. Presently HIE attribute over 3,000 jobs in the call centre sector in the region to the publicly supported infrastructure projects of the past decade, including the HITI.

  The Executive is aware that local loop unbundling may have an impact on rural areas and has asked Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to collaborate on a study to consider the likely extent of local loop unbundling in Scotland and to suggest measures to maximise its impact.

Digital Technology

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans exist to ensure that rural communities are able to benefit from digital services such as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive is currently considering how the procurement of public sector broadband services might stimulate the wider supply of high bandwidth services by the industry to businesses and the community.

  However, the Executive recognises that Public/Private Partnerships may be needed to overcome the scale of demand delivery in the more remote parts of Scotland, and welcomes the current activities of the Highlands & Islands Partnership to secure European support for infrastructure development in such areas.

Digital Technology

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the projected percentage of people living in rural areas who will have access to digital technology is for each of the next five years.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Executive does not hold information in the form requested. The "UK online: the broadband future" report, published this month by the Office of the e-Envoy maps out planned ADSL roll-out, areas served by cable operators and regions with broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA) licensees and, on this basis, estimates that some 15% to 20% of the UK population would be left unserved by higher bandwidth and broadband services by 2003. The report states that this figure probably overestimates coverage, since the BFWA licensees are unlikely to offer services throughout the regions where they have licences.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12469 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 9 February 2001, who received payments under the Engineering Technicians programme; what the level of payment was in each case, and when each payment was made.

Ms Wendy Alexander: No payments have so far been made to KLITRA, the training body offered funding by DTI under this scheme. KLITRA is currently setting up this training programme which is due to begin in May. Payments will be made retrospectively against claims for setting up the programme and for each person trained.

Enterprise

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12469 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 9 February 2001, whether it will detail the projects which have received funding from the £2 million towards retraining; what the allocation was to each project and when each payment was made.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The £2 million is based on estimates provided by local enterprise companies of the costs of helping redundant textile employees find new employment in the last six months of 2000. Support was tailored to suit local and individual needs and included customised training, employment grants, job shops, jobs fairs and a range of advice on employment, benefits, interviewing skills, CV preparation and financial matters.

Enterprise

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to diversify the economy to reduce the dependence of exports on a few key sectors.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The current Export Development Strategy for Scotland recognised the need to widen the base of exporting industries in Scotland. Within this objective, a number of priority sectors were identified and in all these, initiatives to help grow international business have been undertaken.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to building on this, creating the necessary environment for Scottish business to succeed in the global economy. We will publish a Global Connections Strategy later this year to further develop the vision, set out in A Smart, Successful Scotland, of how the Executive and the Enterprise Networks can work in partnership to support further growth in global markets.

Europe

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many formal and informal meetings of the EU Council of Ministers it has been informed about in advance by departments of Her Majesty’s Government since 1 July 1999, specifying the date and subject of each of these meetings.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Executive is informed by UK Government Departments of all formal and informal meetings of the EU Council.

  Details of these meetings are set out in the tables:

  Formal EU Council Meetings

  


Date 
  

Council 
  



12/7/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



16/7/99 
  

Budget 
  



19-20/7/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



19/7/99 
  

Agriculture 
  



29/7/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



13/9/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



27/9/99 
  

Agriculture 
  



4/10/99 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



6/10/99 
  

Transport 
  



8/10/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



11-12/10/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



12/10/99 
  

Environment 
  



22/10/99 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



26/10/99 
  

Fisheries 
  



28/10/99 
  

Internal Market 
  



29/10/99 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



8/11/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



8/11/99 
  

Consumers 
  



9/11/99 
  

Industry 
  



11/11/99 
  

Development 
  



12/11/99 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



15-16/11/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



15/11/99 
  

Agriculture 
  



18/11/99 
  

Health 
  



22/11/99 
  

Fisheries 
  



23/11/99 
  

Culture 
  



23/11/99 
  

Youth 
  



25-26/11/99 
  

Budget 
  



26/11/99 
  

Education 
  



29/11/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



29/11/99 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



30/11/99 
  

Telecommunications 
  



29/11/99 – 3/12/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



2/12/99 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



2/12/99 
  

Energy 
  



2/12/99 
  

Research 
  



6-8/12/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



7/12/99 
  

Internal Market 
  



8/12/99 
  

ACP-EC Council 
  



9/12/99 
  

Transport 
  



13-14/12/99 
  

Environment 
  



14/12/99 
  

Agriculture 
  



16-17/12/99 
  

Fisheries 
  



24/1/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



24/1/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



31/1/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



2-3/2/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



14-15/2/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



28/2/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



13/3/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



13/3/00 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



16/3/00 
  

Internal Market 
  



20-21/3/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



20/3/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



27/3/00 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



28/3/00 
  

Transport 
  



30/3/00 
  

Environment 
  



2/4/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



10-11/4/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



13/4/00 
  

Consumers 
  



17/4/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



2/5/00 
  

Telecommunications 
  



8/5/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



8/5/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



16/5/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



16/5/00 
  

Culture 
  



18/5/00 
  

Industry 
  



18/5/00 
  

Development 
  



22-23/5/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



25/5/00 
  

Internal Market 
  



29/5/00 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



30/5/00 
  

Energy 
  



6/6/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



6/6/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



8/6/00 
  

Education 
  



13-14/6/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



15/6/00 
  

Research 
  



16/6/00 
  

Fisheries 
  



19/6/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



19/6/90 
  

Agriculture 
  



18/6/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



22/6/00 
  

Environment 
  



26/6/00 
  

Transport 
  



19/6/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



29/6/00 
  

Health 
  



10/7/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



17/7/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



17/7/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



20/7/00 
  

Budget 
  



18-19/9/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



26/9/00 
  

Culture 
  



28/9/00 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



28/9/00 
  

Internal Market 
  



29/9/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



20/9/00 
  

Transport 
  



2/10/00 
  

Transport 
  



3/10/00 
  

Telecommunications 
  



9-10/10/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



10/10/00 
  

Environment 
  



17/10/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



17/10/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



17/10/00 
  

JHA & Civil Protection 
  



23/10/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



7/11/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



7/11/00 
  

Environment 
  



9/11/00 
  

Education/Youth 
  



10/11/00 
  

Development 
  



16/11/00 
  

Research 
  



17/11/00 
  

Fisheries 
  



20-21/11/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



20-21/11/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



23-24/11/00 
  

Budget 
  



23/11/00 
  

Culture 
  



26-27/11/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



27-28/11/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



30/11/00 & 1/12/00 
  

JHA & Civil Protection 
  



30/11/00 
  

Internal Market/Consumers/Tourism 
  



4-5/12/00 
  

General Affairs 
  



4/12/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



5/12/00 
  

Industry & Energy 
  



14/12/00 
  

Health 
  



14-15/12/00 
  

Fish 
  



18-19/12/00 
  

Environment 
  



19/12/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



20/12/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



20-21/12/00 
  

Transport 
  



22/12/00 
  

Telecommunications 
  



19/1/01 
  

ECOFIN 
  



29-30/01/01 
  

Agriculture 
  



12/2/01 
  

ECOFIN 
  



12/2/01 
  

Education 
  



  Informal Council Ministerial Meetings

  


Date 
  

Council 
  



8-10/7/99 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



18-20/7/99 
  

Culture 
  



23-25/7/99 
  

Environment 
  



4-5/9/99 
  

General Affairs 
  



10-12/9/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



12-14/9/99 
  

Agriculture 
  



16-17/9/99 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



23-25/9/99 
  

Education 
  



27-28/9/99 
  

Housing 
  



9/12/99 
  

ECOFIN 
  



28-29/1/00 
  

Development 
  



11/2/00 
  

Labour & Social Affairs 
  



28/2/00 
  

Defence Ministers Informals 
  



3-4/3/00 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



6-7/3/00 
  

Research 
  



17-18/3/00 
  

Economy & Finance 
  



30-31/3/00 
  

Culture 
  



7-8/4/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



15-16/4/00 
  

Environment 
  



6-7/5/00 
  

Foreign Affairs 
  



25-26/5/00 
  

Foreign Affairs 
  



28-30/5/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



7-8/7/00 
  

Employment & Social Policy 
  



14-15/7/00 
  

Environment 
  



20-21/7/00 
  

Culture 
  



28-29/7/00 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



2-3/9/00 
  

Foreign Affairs 
  



3-5/9/00 
  

Agriculture 
  



8-9/9/00 
  

ECOFIN 
  



22/9/00 
  

Defence Ministers Informals 
  



22-23/1/01 
  

Equality & Social Security 
  



8-9/2/01 
  

Justice & Home Affairs 
  



15-17/2/01 
  

Employment & Telecommunications

Europe

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many UK delegations to either formal or informal EU Council of Ministers meetings have been led by Scottish Executive ministers since 1 July 1999, specifying the date and subject of each of these meetings.

Mr Jack McConnell: Two. A Scottish Executive minister led at the Education Council on 8 June 2000 and at the Education Council Meeting on 12 February 2001.

Europe

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many meetings of technical committees and working parties of the EU Council of Ministers it has been informed about in advance by UKREP since 1 July 1999.

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many technical committees and working parties of the EU Council of Ministers it has been informed about in advance by departments of Her Majesty’s Government since 1 July 1999.

Mr Jack McConnell: Under the arrangements set out in the EU Concordat the Executive is informed by UK Government Departments of all technical committee and working party meetings in which it has an interest.

Exam Results

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many examination appeals were submitted by 10 January 2001 from each local authority area for review under the procedure announced by the Minister for Education, Europe and External Affairs on 13 December 2000 and whether any cases put forward after this date have been excluded from the appeals review process solely because of their late submission.

Mr Jack McConnell: Following my announcement on 13 December, the Executive wrote to all education authorities, further education colleges and heads of other centres on 18 December inviting them to submit requests for review by 10 January. By 19 January, the Appeals Review team had received 3,974 returns.

  In order to ensure that no appeals were excluded solely because of their late submission, the Appeals Review team accepted requests for review as late as 29 January when subject teams began their work. In a few very exceptional cases, requests have been accepted beyond this date. However, at this stage in the process it is no longer possible for the team to accept more new cases.

  As at 21 February, 4,216 cases were included in the appeals review process, and a breakdown of these cases by education authority is shown in the table.

  Appeals Review 2000

  Numbers of cases by education authority

  


Aberdeen City 
  

86 
  



Aberdeenshire 
  

210 
  



Angus 
  

100 
  



Argyll & Bute 
  

81 
  



Clackmannan 
  

14 
  



Dumfries & Galloway 
  

238 
  



Dundee City 
  

94 
  



East Ayrshire 
  

136 
  



East Dunbartonshire 
  

117 
  



East Lothian 
  

67 
  



East Renfrewshire 
  

100 
  



City of Edinburgh 
  

276 
  



Eilean Siar 
  

47 
  



Falkirk 
  

77 
  



Fife 
  

271 
  



Glasgow City 
  

253 
  



Highland 
  

139 
  



Inverclyde 
  

69 
  



Midlothian 
  

68 
  



Moray 
  

67 
  



North Ayrshire 
  

96 
  



North Lanarkshire 
  

184 
  



Orkney Islands 
  

19 
  



Perth & Kinross 
  

66 
  



Renfrewshire 
  

137 
  



Scottish Borders 
  

163 
  



Shetland Islands 
  

3 
  



South Ayrshire 
  

106 
  



South Lanarkshire 
  

147 
  



Stirling 
  

72 
  



West Dunbarton 
  

43 
  



West Lothian 
  

92 
  



Total 
  

3,638 
  



FE Colleges 
  

71 
  



Independent Schools 
  

507 
  



Total Cases 
  

4,216

Fuel

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what its estimate is of the loss to the economy through the smuggling of fuel into Scotland and whether it has made any assessment of the extent of such smuggling in order to arrive at such an estimate.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The Scottish Executive has no functions in relation to the smuggling of fuel.

Fuel

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions for the smuggling of fuel there were in each year since 1997 and what sentences were imposed in relation to any convictions in such cases.

Colin Boyd QC: Cases of smuggling are not broken down for recording purposes according to the nature of the contraband and the information is consequently not available.

Genetically Modified Crops

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what weight will be given to the views of local residents and communities in determining whether approval for proposed GM crop trial sites should be granted and whether approval will be refused where there is substantial opposition.

Ross Finnie: The Scottish Executive is required to operate within European and UK Legislation on the deliberate release of genetically modified crops. Under Directive 90/220/EEC consent can only be refused where scientific evidence is available to suggest that the release would cause harm to human health or the environment. The legislation does not permit an application to be rejected solely in response to local opposition. A decision on that basis would be illegal.

Genetically Modified Crops

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider extending the formal notification period required in relation to proposed GM crop trial sites from 15 days to a longer period of 30 or 45 days, and, if so, how long it will make the notification period.

Ross Finnie: The current statutory notification period is determined in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. The Scottish Executive is aware however of the limited opportunity which this allows for public consideration and comment. Accordingly, assurances have been sought and gained from the biotechnology companies which will provide a longer notification period for this spring’s farm evaluations. The exact period of notification has not yet been determined.

Genetically Modified Crops

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the public are only required to be notified of proposed GM crop trial sites rather than having a statutory right to be consulted.

Ross Finnie: Neither the governing European Directive 90/220/EEC nor the Environmental Protection Act 1990 require or provide a basis for consultation on any aspect of a proposed release.

  The recently adopted package of revisions to EU 90/220/EEC makes increased provision for public consultation. In the coming months the Scottish Executive will be seeking the views of stakeholders as to how the implementation of the revised Directive should be taken forward.

Genetically Modified Crops

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why it does not select as well as approve the sites of proposed GM crop trials; who the members are of the Scientific Steering Committee which selects the proposed sites and what representation Scotland has on this committee.

Ross Finnie: The initial identification of individual sites to participate in these trials takes place independently of government and is the responsibility of the Supply Chain Initiative on Modified Agricultural Crops, a body representing the interests of the industry including the National Farmers Union within its membership. The proposed sites must meet the criteria set out by the impartial Scientific Steering Committee which oversees the UK farm-scale evaluation programme. They are selected to represent a variety of conditions, such as climate, ecology and soil type as well as farm type and are intended to provide a representative sample of UK agriculture.

  The Scientific Steering Committee members are:

  Chairman:

  Professor Christopher Pollock, Research Director of the Institute of Environmental and Grassland Research.

  Members:

  Dr Nicholas Aebisher, Deputy Director of Research for the Game Conservancy Trust;

  Dr Alastair Burn, English Nature;

  Professor Mick Crawley, Imperial College;

  Dr David Gibbons, Head of Conservation Science, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds;

  Mr Jim Orson, Director Morley Research Centre, and

  Dr Nick Sotherton, Director of Research for the Game Conservancy Trust.

  The Scottish Executive is represented on this committee by officials from the Rural Affairs Department who attend meetings and act as assessors.

Genetically Modified Crops

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role (a) the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, (b) the Institute of Arable Crops Research and (c) the Scottish Crop Research Institute will play in relation to proposed GM crop trials.

Ross Finnie: A consortium of independent scientists from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the Institute of Arable Crops Research and the Scottish Crop Research Institute form the Government-approved research consortium which carries out the ecological research to inform the farm-scale evaluation programme. Their approach is to compare key indicators of biodiversity between the GM and non-GM cropping systems.

  The scientific validity of the research programme is being overseen by a Scientific Steering Committee of independent experts in agriculture and ecology.

Health

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will outline the basis on which the Central Legal Office of the NHS in Scotland charges health boards and NHS Trusts in respect of the legal services which it provides to them.

Susan Deacon: The Central Legal Office derives its income solely from NHS authorities on a cost recovery basis.

Health

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the total amount of fees paid to the Central Legal Office of the NHS in Scotland by NHS Trusts and health boards for legal services was in each of the last three financial years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: The information requested is shown in the table:

  


Year 
  

1997-98
(£) 
  

1998-99
(£) 
  

1999-2000
(£) 
  



NHS Boards 
  

806,439.38 
  

752,052.15 
  

596,693.35 
  



NHS Trusts 
  

1,557,442.30 
  

1,925,399.70 
  

2,124,099.00 
  



Total 
  

2,363,881.68 
  

2,677,451.85 
  

2,720,792.35

Hospitals

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bed days are lost each year due to delays in discharging people who are fit to leave hospital and what the cost of these bed days was to the NHSiS in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The September 2000 national census showed 1,944 NHS beds occupied by patients who had waited more than six weeks from the date they were assessed as clinically ready for discharge (six weeks is the common period for discharge planning agreement timescales across Scotland). This suggests approximately 700,000 bed days incurred in a recent typical year. This figure is an estimate only and should be treated with caution; due to the absence of national trend-based information, no account can be taken of seasonal fluctuation. It is not possible to calculate accurately the associated cost which is, of course, off-set by the costs that would be incurred following discharge in each case.

  Full details of the September 2000 census are available at the following web site:

  http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/isd/scottish_health_statistics/subject/ready_for_discharge/sept00.pdf

Housing

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Glasgow City Council’s housing debt will be transferred to it or remain with the council should tenants vote for stock transfer.

Ms Margaret Curran: As indicated in written evidence to the Social Inclusion Committee from the former Minister for Communities, Ms Wendy Alexander, (SP Paper 161, Session 1 (2000)) where a whole stock transfer proposal represents good value for money and is selected to proceed and where the local authority’s housing debt exceeds the receipt raised from the disposal of the stock, assistance will be available as follows:

  The receipt would be used to repay part of the council’s outstanding housing debt;

  The cost of the premature repayment of debt (i.e. the breakage costs) would be met with resources provided by the Scottish Executive;

  The cost of servicing the remaining (i.e. residual) debt would also be met by resources provided by the Scottish Executive.

  The mechanisms for delivering on this commitment will be discussed with councils as part of the process of appraising applications for approval to transfer.

Housing

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the (a) interest and (b) principal on Glasgow City Council’s housing debt it will service, in both cash terms and as a percentage of the outstanding debt, should the debt remain with the council following the housing stock transfer.

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, if Glasgow City Council’s housing debt will remain on the books of the council following stock transfer, over what time period it will expect the debt to be cleared.

Ms Margaret Curran: I refer to the answer to question S1W-13378. Until an application to transfer has been received from the council it is not possible to say what level of debt may remain outstanding, nor how long it might take to repay such debt.

Medical Training

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures are in place to increase the number of clinical placements available for physiotherapists.

Susan Deacon: The provision of clinical placements is a matter for the relevant higher education institution in conjunction with NHS Trusts, and supported by the Scottish Executive.

  Any clinical area which provides a suitable learning experience for physiotherapists, and is approved by their regulatory body as such, is available for clinical placement.

Medical Training

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is planning to increase the number of university places for physiotherapists.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive Health Department has advised the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council on the number of additional funded places for students undertaking pre-registration courses in the Professions Allied to Medicine. Physiotherapy was identified as an area of particular need. The council is currently considering this advice, and will make its funding announcements for 2001-02 in March.

Police

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what estimated additional policing costs will result from the delayed visit by the Irish Prime Minister to the unveiling of a memorial plaque at Carfin Grotto.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Executive does not hold information on the cost of policing individual events. These involve operational decisions which are matters for Chief Constables.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been submitted by police forces in each of the last four years for assistance towards the establishment of air support; what the response was in each case, and whether it will provide details of the funding sought by and the nature of each application.

Mr Jim Wallace: Decisions on the provision of air support are operational matters for Chief Constables and police authorities and it is for them to take decisions on the costs and benefits of specific investment proposals in light of the resources available. Since 1997-98 there have been no formal applications for funding for the provision of air support. At that time an ACPOS Working Group concluded that if air cover was to be provided for Scottish police forces, the preferred approach would involve a national arrangement. This has been considered since by the Scottish Executive, police authorities and ACPOS without a final conclusion being reached. Earlier in the current financial year, Tayside Police wrote to the Scottish Executive Justice Department with an outline business case for setting up an air support unit in conjunction with Fife Constabulary. The response indicated that in the light of previous work on air support the department was unwilling to provide central funding for local provision, although that did not of course rule out the use of local funding where a case might be justified on the basis of local circumstances. This is the approach that has been adopted by Strathclyde which has leased a helicopter.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which police forces have access to air support; where any such support units are based, and what funding it provides for such services in each case.

Mr Jim Wallace: Strathclyde Police currently have access to air support through an air support unit based at the city heliport in Glasgow. Funding for the police is provided annually through the GAE process and resources are not allocated to specific operational areas or policing tasks.

Police

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current training capacity is of the Police Training College, Tulliallan, expressed as a number of places, and what the capacity was in each of the last five years.

Mr Jim Wallace: The Scottish Police College offers workplace and open and distance learning as well as residential training involving the use of special facilities so that there is no single measure of its training capacity. However its ability to offer residential training is constrained by the number of bed places it can provide. The number of bed places available on a daily basis over the past five years is as follows:

  


1996-97 
  

1997-98 
  

1998-99 
  

1999-2000 
  

2000-01 
  



432 
  

316 
  

425 
  

425 
  

733 
  



  The figure for 1997-98 was affected by a move from dormitory accommodation to study bedrooms. The figure for 2000-01 reflects the sharing of bedrooms by probationers. This is intended to be a short-term measure for dealing with exceptionally high levels of recruitment by police forces.

Prison Service

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees left the Scottish Prison Service in each of the last two years due to (a) finding another job, (b) sickness or other health reasons and (c) retirement.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. The information available is as follows:

  1999

  Various reasons or unspecified: 64

  Sickness or other health reasons: 22

  Retirement: 76

  2000

  Various reasons or unspecified: 68

  Sickness or other health reasons: 14

  Retirement: 171

Prison Service

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to recruit new staff to the Scottish Prison Service.

Mr Jim Wallace: I have asked Mr Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The need for recruitment to the SPS is kept under constant review and takes place according to business needs.

Road Accidents

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many road traffic accidents took place on the trunk road network in each year since 1995, broken down by local authority area, specifying in each case the number of fatalities and serious injuries and separately detailing those which reported winter weather conditions as an attributable factor.

Sarah Boyack: Data about injury road accidents are collected by the police and reported to the Scottish Executive using the STATS 19 statistical report form. These returns cover only road accidents in which one or more people were injured: they do not cover damage only accidents.

  Accidents for which winter weather conditions were reported as an attributable factor are not identified as such in the STATS 19 returns. However, some information is available about the weather and the road surface condition, using code-lists which are shown on page 128 of Road Accidents Scotland 1998, copies of which are available in SPICe (Bib. no. 11551).

  The information requested is given in the table entitled "Injury road accidents occurring on the trunk road network, and the associated numbers of fatalities and seriously-injured casualties: 1995 to 1999 (provisional)", a copy of which has been placed in SPICe (Bib. no. 11548).

Road Accidents

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the accident statistics for the trunk road network for 2000 will be available.

Sarah Boyack: Statistics of injury road accidents on the trunk road network are included in the annual Road Accidents Scotland statistical volume, which is generally published by the end of October each year. On present plans, statistics for the year 2000 should be published by around the end of October 2001, in Road Accidents Scotland 2000 .

Road Accidents

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8554 by Sarah Boyack on 19 July 2000, in relation to how many of the accidents which took place on the A725 in each of the last five years were winter weather conditions reported as an attributable factor, broken down by local authority area and specifying in each case the number of fatalities and serious injuries.

Sarah Boyack: The number of fatal and serious injury accidents on the A725 in each of the last five years where winter weather conditions were an attributable factor is as follows:

  South Lanarkshire

  


Year 
  

Fatal 
  

Serious 
  

Total 
  



1995 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



1996 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



1997 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



1998 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



1999 
  

0 
  

0 
  

0 
  



Total 
  

0 
  

1 
  

1 
  



  There were no fatal or serious injury accidents in North Lanarkshire where winter weather conditions were an attributable factor.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been in Scotland under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, broken down by local authority area.

Colin Boyd QC: The statistical information necessary to answer this question is not available.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any steps to monitor the effectiveness of the provisions of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and, if so, what the outcome has been.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive officials are in regular contact with roads authorities and utility companies on a number of issues. In addition, they attend meetings of the Road Authorities and Utility Companies (Scotland), a forum of representatives of the Scottish Joint Utilities Group and the road authorities. The forum discusses a variety of subjects, including the effectiveness of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the process is for amending the codes of practice in place under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

Sarah Boyack: Codes of practice are kept under regular review and may be amended following consultation, as and when deemed necessary. This could be following the introduction of new or revised legislation or following on from representations received from roads authorities or utility companies.

Roads

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to review the codes of practice in place under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991.

Sarah Boyack: As with other areas of roads legislation, the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and associated codes of practice are kept under regular review.

Scottish Higher Education Funding Council

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding was provided by the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council for research and development in each year since 1995.

Ms Wendy Alexander: The allocations are:

  


1995-96 
  

£102 million 
  



1996-97 
  

£104 million 
  



1997-98 
  

£109 million 
  



1998-99 
  

£120 million 
  



1999-2000 
  

£129 million 
  



2000-01 
  

£136 million 
  



  It should be noted that these figures relate to the budget in each academic year; exclude smaller non-formula initiatives during the period, and relate to funding for research infrastructure, as SHEFC does not provide funding for "development".

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to questions S1W-12075 and S1W-12842 by Sarah Boyack on 18 December 2000 and 8 February 2001 respectively, why there is a difference of £46 million between the value of the surplus of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes and the amount which is expected to be distributed to members; what these remaining funds will be used for; who will hold these funds, and whether any part of these funds will accrue to the Scottish Executive, Her Majesty’s Government or any other public body.

Sarah Boyack: The treatment of the surplus represents unfinished pre-devolution business. The UK Government’s long established position has been that the surplus should go to the UK Exchequer, and the Scottish Assigned Budget Settlement has been progressed on that basis.

  There is no legal entitlement on the part of Scottish Transport Group pension scheme members to share in the surplus. Scottish ministers have, however, agreed with the Chancellor of the Exchequer that ex-gratia payments should be made to STG pension scheme members which would be broadly equivalent to the final settlement for National Bus Company pension scheme members south of the border. An appropriate amount has accordingly been earmarked for distribution.

Scottish Transport Group Pension Scheme

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1O-2888 by Sarah Boyack on 1 February 2001, why the steps to be taken to identify members who will be entitled to receive payments from the surplus of the Scottish Transport Group pension schemes have not been started already; whether there is any reason why these steps cannot be taken at present; whether it has raised this issue with the schemes’ trustees; whether the membership records available are known to be missing details of some members who may be eligible, and whether the records contain up-to-date address information.

Sarah Boyack: Once the Scottish Transport Group is wound-up the Scottish Executive will be able to access the records held by the Trustees to the pension schemes. We expect these records will require some updating particularly as regards current addresses. In advance of wind-up, however, we have taken the following steps towards such updating: we have set up a dedicated phone line with voicemail advising callers to write to us for a pro-forma to register their interest and a letter providing background to the announcement; we have spoken and/or written to the main trade unions advising them of the position and have provided them with material to pass to their members who are making enquiries; we have written to the Confederation of Passenger Transport to explain the position and asked them to provide our information to all their Scottish bus company members, again supplying pro-formas for pension scheme members to send to us to help verify records; we have written to CalMac in similar vein (some of their employees will have been in STG pension schemes), and we propose to set up a departmental web page from which access to the latest information and pro-forma will be available.

Social Inclusion Partnerships

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12843 by Ms Margaret Curran on 8 February 2001, why the terms and conditions of grant in relation to Social Inclusion Partnership funding are currently under revision.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12843 by Ms Margaret Curran on 8 February 2001, what the current terms and conditions of grant are in relation to Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12843 by Ms Margaret Curran on 8 February 2001, when it expects to publish the new terms and conditions of grant in relation to Social Inclusion Partnership funding.

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-12843 by Ms Margaret Curran on 8 February 2001, whether the terms and conditions on which Social Inclusion Partnership funding is allocated to particular projects are set locally or by the Executive.

Ms Margaret Curran: The terms and conditions of grant are currently being revised to reflect changes to the payment procedures which will take effect from April 2001. Currently, 40% of grant is paid in the year in which expenditure is incurred, and 60% is paid a year in arrears. From April 2001, all grant will be paid quarterly in arrears, in the year in which expenditure is incurred and there will be further changes to the way in which support cost grant is paid.

  We are also taking the opportunity to increase the clarity of the terms and conditions of grant, and the new terms and conditions will include guidance on the issues that grant recipients should address when setting local funding agreements with projects. I expect to issue the new terms and conditions of grant to grant recipients before the end of this financial year and a copy will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre.

  The existing terms and conditions of grant set out the requirements that all grant recipients must meet in their use of Social Inclusion Partnership funds. However, each grant recipient also has in place local arrangements setting out the conditions agreed between the grant recipient and projects that the partnership decides to fund. These arrangements are agreed locally.

  A copy of the current terms and conditions of grant for the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund, produced by the Scottish Executive Development Department in 1999, has been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. no. 11476).

Sport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether  sportscotland, in its capacity as administrator of the Lottery Fund Sports Facilities Programme, received an application from Badaguish, the Speyside Trust (Scottish charity registration number SCO16172) for the purpose of a covered sports facility; what the outcome in relation to any such application was; what the reasons were for this outcome, and whether any decision in relation to any such application will be reviewed.

Allan Wilson: It is not  sportscotland’s practice to disclose to third parties whether or not it has received an application from any particular person or group.

Sport

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how "local community" is defined in relation to rejection by  sportscotland of applications for assistance from the Lottery Fund Sports Facilities Programme on grounds that the project does not demonstrate benefit to the sports life of the local community and, in particular, whether this phrase is interpreted with reference to geography alone or also takes account of community of interest.

Allan Wilson: The "local community", as applied to the Local Facilities Strand of the Sports Facilities Programme, is determined through  sportscotland’s supply/demand model and is the appropriate catchment for a particular facility type. This varies from facility to facility and is affected by location, geography and transportation.

  Other strands of the programme take account of "communities of interest". For example, the National and Regional strands focus on discrete sporting groups, including disabled persons.

Tartan Day

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will be contributing to the Tartan Day celebrations in the United States.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive is planning to support events in Washington, Chicago and New York with a view to strengthening our links with the USA and promoting Scotland. A detailed programme is being developed in co-operation with the Scottish Parliament, organisations funded by the Executive that are active in the USA (for example Locate in Scotland and Visitscotland) and American organisations.

Telecommunications

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the sources of funding from the European Union which are available for telecommunications infrastructure.

Peter Peacock: European Structural Funding for telecommunications infrastructure is available mainly in the Highlands & Islands under the Special Transitional Programme. For 2000 to 2006, around £5.7 million is available for direct support for broadband network extension and a further £2.5 million to stimulate demand through encouraging business and community use. This European funding together with local national funding will require to draw in additional private funding toward the total cost of activities.

  Under Objective 2 Programmes, limited support is available for SMEs to connect to existing infrastructure only where such infrastructure provision is made available by other bodies.

Telecommunications

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what European Union grants for the telecommunications network have been accessed since May 1997 and whether it will detail the amount of each grant and the purpose of each project.

Peter Peacock: Since May 1997, European Structural Fund grants have been accessed towards funding the following projects.

  Highlands & Islands Mobile Telecommunications Network

  


Total Costs 
  

£15,040,000 
  



ERDF Award 
  

£3,800,000 
  



  To complete the GSM digital mobile telephony infrastructure in the Highlands and Islands and involves substantial investment in radio transmission sites and associated equipment.

  Highlands & Islands Digital Telecommunications Upgrade

  


Total Costs 
  

£4,870,000 
  



ERDF Award 
  

£1,704,500 
  



  To allow upgrading of all remaining UXD5 fixed network telephone exchanges (197) and all remaining analogue transmission lines in the Highlands and Islands to full digital operation. This completes the fixed digital network telecommunication infrastructure.

  Trunk Telecommunications Upgrade to Islands & Argyll

  


Total Costs 
  

£9,817,460 
  



ERDF Award 
  

£2,774,000 
  



  To enable Scottish Telecom to upgrade the trunk telecommunications network to provide a high capacity supply to peripheral parts of the Highlands and Islands. Entails the installation of enhanced microwave and fibre trunk links between Inverness and remote parts of the mainland and new microwave links to the island groups.

  Crichton IT Link

  


Total Costs: 
  

£1,575,166 
  



ERDF Award 
  

£350,317 
  



  To provide a high bandwidth communications link using fibre optic technology between the Crichton Campus in Dumfries and suppliers network in Glasgow allowing users access to a range, level and quality of communications services not previously available in Dumfries and Galloway.

  Building a 21st Century Economy

  


Total Costs 
  

£2,400,400 
  



ERDF Award 
  

£350,400 
  



  To link SMEs in Govan to high speed telecommunications infrastructure.

Telecommunications

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will specify a minimum megabyte capacity for telecommunications infrastructure in new residential buildings and, if so, what this capacity will be.

Mr Sam Galbraith: Building regulations are the main mechanism for specifying standards for new buildings. There is no requirement within the building regulations for telecommunications provision and we have no plans, at present, to introduce any minimum standard.

Water Charges

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many charities and voluntary organisations will be affected by the decision to withdraw water rates relief and how much additional income this measure will generate for each water authority in each of the next five years.

Mr Sam Galbraith: I understand that just over 15,000 organisations in the above categories are affected by withdrawal of reliefs.

  Total revenue forgone as a result of existing reliefs to these bodies is as set out in the table. The withdrawal of reliefs is being phased in over a five-year period. For some groups, withdrawal began in April 2000, and for the remainder will begin in April 2001.

  


Authority 
  

£000 
  



East of Scotland 
  

7,299 
  



North of Scotland 
  

5,404 
  



West of Scotland 
  

6,259 
  



Total 
  

18,962 
  



  These figures also take no account of the possibility that many organisations will take advantage of water metering, where this will reduce their costs. It is therefore likely that additional income to the authorities will accordingly be reduced.

Scottish Parliamentary Coporate Body

Holyrood Project

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Holyrood Project Team will consider relocating the proposed parking bays to ensure that disabled people do not have to cross a road to gain entry to the building.

Sir David Steel: The Convenor of the Holyrood Progress Group has informed me that the six disabled parking bays incorporated in the landscaping proposals are intended to improve access to surrounding areas and tourist attractions as well as to the Parliament. Security considerations require the Parliament building to have a protective zone that prevents vehicles parking closer than 25 metres around the building’s perimeter. After consultation with the project’s access consultants, the pedestrian crossing over the "traffic calmed" Horse Wynd was relocated to provide a direct route to the Parliament’s public entrance from the parking bays.

MSPs

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether any review of MSPs’ salaries is planned.

Sir David Steel: : No review is currently planned.

Vending Machines

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will investigate the possible introduction of vending machines supplying Fair Trade tea and coffee throughout the parliamentary estate.

Sir David Steel: The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has investigated the possibility of vending machines supplying Fair Trade tea and coffee within the Scottish Parliament. Our vending machine providers are unable to supply Fair Trade beverages at present, although they will keep this under review. It should be noted that vending machines only account for 5% of coffee and tea purchased in the Parliament and of the other 95% it is estimated that 60–65% is Fair Trade.